


Close Shave

by wintercreek



Category: due South
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-06-24
Updated: 2009-06-24
Packaged: 2017-10-05 17:07:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wintercreek/pseuds/wintercreek
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One barbershop afternoon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Close Shave

**Author's Note:**

  * For [damned_colonial (Skud)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skud/gifts).



Ed loves it when they come in together. They are a study in contrasts, one head dark and one light, one old-fashioned and one modern. They require the full range of his skills.

He asks Mr. Fraser to sit down first, today. The heated towels are fresh out of the steamer, and he wants to wrap Mr. Fraser - "Ben, really, Ed" - Ben's face while they're still warm. Mr. Kowalski smirks from his chair in the waiting area and pretends to read _Popular Mechanics_.

Ed unwraps Mr. Fraser's face and smooths on the foam, badger-hair shaving brush light in his hand. This part is just the way his daddy taught him, and _his_ daddy before him. The straight razor is cool under his fingers and the smell of soap fills his nose.

The blade rasps over Mr. Fraser's cheek, cutting closer than any disposable razor ever could. Ed sharpens this blade every morning. He can't imagine any other way to start his days, anything else he would do in the dawn light.

When Mr. Fraser's done, his face as smooth as a boy's and his hair trimmed back into shape, it's Mr. Kowalski's turn. Mr. Kowalski has given up on getting Ed to call him "Ray." He just sits down in the chair and tilts his head forward, the nape of his neck exposed.

The electric shaver is how Ed ends his days, checking that it's clear of any hair and plugged into its charger. He sets the blade in close to 1/4", just like Mr. Kowalski likes it. The shaver's hum almost covers the little sigh Mr. Kowalski makes as Ed buzzes up his neck, vibrations rippling across his skin.

If pressed, Ed might eventually admit to liking this part best: when they're done, when they've brushed off the loose hair and paid up with a good tip and a "Thank you kindly," when they've stepped outside onto Ed's side street and he can just see them through his window, hidden there from the rush of traffic half a block away, they check his work. Mr. Kowalski runs his hands over Mr. Fraser's face, and Mr. Fraser's fingers explore the soft, fine hairs left up the back of Mr. Kowalski's neck. They keep their hands there and step in closer, and then they share one chaste kiss, cradling each other's face and neck.

That's how Ed knows that he did good work today.


End file.
